Sept. 19, 2005

Fairfax, Va.--The Patriots will play their second-straight home game of a four-game homestand on Sept. 20 against La Salle for a men's soccer non-conference contest at 7 p.m. George Mason holds an overall record of 2-3, while the Explorers have posted an overall mark of 2-3-1.

Most recently, the Patriots dropped a 2-1 decision to George Washington in Fairfax on Sept. 17. Junior midfielder Francis McCardle (Fairfax, Va.) scored the lone goal for Mason in the 41st minute for his third of the season, which ties senior forward Karim Manneh (Banjul, Gambia) for the highest among the Patriots through five games. Manneh dished out his first assist of the 2005 campaign against the Colonials and leads Mason in points with seven.

The Explorers are 1-0-1 in their past two games, which includes a 2-1 double-overtime win against Drexel on La Salle's home field. Freshman goalkeeper Dan Pfeiffer was named the Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer co-Rookie of the Week for his performance during the week ending Sept. 18. The goalie shutdown Bucknell in a start on Sept. 14 and did not allow a goal in a relief appearance against Drexel on Sept. 16. Sophomore midfielder Jeremy Ortiz leads La Salle in both goals and points with three and seven, respectively.

The Patriots and the Explorers have squared-off twice in school history and Mason leads the overall series, 1-0-1. The last time these two teams met, the game ended in a 1-1 tie on Sept. 8, 2002 in Fairfax, Va. Mason's lone win against La Salle came on Sept. 18, 1999 in Philadelphia, Pa. when the Patriots won by a score of 2-1 in overtime.

Following Mason's match-up against the Explorers, the Patriots will host Penn State on Sept. 24 at 8 p.m., which follows Mason's women's soccer game against Towson (5:30 p.m.).